Blind Date
by imtrash
Summary: Tony sets Steve up on a date... Not superheroes au. One-shot.


**A/N: **I wrote this for my creative writing class...Mr. K was the best. Anyways R&R

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><p>Steve was hesitant. His hands started to become slick with sweat. It was the first time he actually gone went out with a girl. Not since his last girlfriend, Sharon. He liked her, but it didn't work out like he hoped it would. It turned out her supposed love was only skin deep.<p>

He had sighed to himself and raked a shaky hand through his blond hair, as he wondered how Tony convinced him to go on this blind date. He just hoped his awkwardness didn't drive the woman away.

He'd heard stories about her breaking men's hearts as if they were nothing to her. If he wasn't intimidated by those stories, he'd be lying.

He had dressed in his father's old suit, against his friend's wishes of buying him a new one. Besides his father's old suit was nice despite not having been worn for a good 23 years.

Tony had arranged for them to meet at the bar down the street. One famous in New York for its class and most of all, alcohol. Though Steve wasn't much of a drinker, he agreed to go. Once entering the establishment he was hit with the smell of various perfumes, alcohol and the sound of laughter. He sat on a stool by an empty section of the bar, ordering a simple beer.

Waiting patiently he thought it would be a good idea to start sketching. Nothing in particular, just the various glasses and bottles around the bar. He'd grabbed a napkin and took out a pen from his pocket. He was interrupted by a slight tap on his shoulder. Turning around he was met with a pair of green eyes, framed by short and curly locks of red hair.

"So are you waiting for anyone?" she asked taking a seat next to him. Steve heard the slightest Russian accent from the other, barely noticeable.

"Yes, I am." He sat with her in an awkward silence. Contemplating on what to do, Steve just continued to sketch. He didn't know what else to say.

"I am as well." she paused for a moment. "That's really good." She praised, watching him as he started sketching the bar. Compared to all the other men she's been with, he was different. She couldn't tell how, but he was.

"Oh...um...thanks." he replied, they sat there in an uncomfortable silence. Steve decided that he couldn't take it anymore. "So, do you come here often?" he asked, pausing from his sketch to look at her.

At first the woman thought that he was trying to use a pick up line on her, but she could tell from the look on his face that he was genuinely asking her a question.

"Not often, just went out tonight because a friend recommended I go." she explained.

"Oh, likewise. I mean...um...my friend also told me to go to this particular bar." He didn't say anything about being set up on a blind date.

"You don't seem to look like the drinking type." She replied, seeing that his beer was untouched.

"Oh yes, well ma'am I don't really drink. But the thing is, I have a very high alcohol tolerance." he admitted. She laughed light heartedly. She hadn't been called ma'am before. Steve had taken her laugh the wrong way and shied away slightly. Much to her disappointment.

"Hey, I didn't mean it in a bad way." she assured.

"That's a relief. You see I used to be bullied a lot." he explained, blushing faintly. She couldn't believe it. A big guy like Steve. Being bullied? She just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"Really? A tall and strong looking guy like you, bullied?"

He chuckled, "Well….till junior year in highschool, I was the main guy to be picked on." He said. "I was a short "beanpole" as some kids would call me. Then well, puberty hit and no one messed with me afterwards. I became well known after I'd joined the football team and well the rest is history." He explained, as he looked at her a thought had popped into his head. Here he was talking to a random stranger about his childhood. Something about her made it easy for him to talk. Then it dawned upon him that he had not introduced himself and Steve felt like smacking himself in the back of the head.

"Stupid…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Um, did you just call me stupid?" She asked, looking at him as if he were serious.

"No, oh god no. I didn't m-mean to call you stupid. I-I was referring to myself," he stuttered. The redhead looked at him with an amused smile.

"Why would you call yourself stupid?"

"Well, it seems that we haven't really introduced ourselves." he stated, unconsciously rubbing the back of his neck.

"It seems we haven't. How about you go first." she advised, the sides of her lips quirking slightly upwards.

"Hi, I'm Steve Rogers." he said, extending a hand for her to shake. After the words had left his mouth, her smile had broken out into a grin. Steve had just hoped his hands weren't too clammy at the moment. She shook his hand, not minding that it was slightly damp.

"Natalia Romanova, nice to meet you Rogers."

Steve would be lying if he said that he was perfectly calm. He had froze mid handshake as he realized the petite woman standing before him was in fact the woman that Tony had set him up with. He let go of her hand as his arm fell back to his side. His mouth slightly hanging ajar.

"Steve? You alright there? Steve?" she repeated. He was snapped out of his stupor at her words.

"Um...yeah, yes. Perfectly fine. Yup, just thirsty is all." he blurted out and started drinking his beer. Slowly. His mind reeling with thoughts about him being so blind to see that she was the one Tony him set up with. Natalia just shrugged and ordered a dirty martini.

At that moment Steve was thinking about his anything, but perfect, love life. The last girlfriend he'd been with was only out for his looks. Sharon was shallow and would only go out with Steve if he was wearing something more...presentable. She had boasted about him to her friends that he was lucky to even have a girl like her in his life. He shuddered at the thought of her and almost choked on his drink. Causing him to start sputtering and wheezing.

A hand had started lightly patting him on the back, trying to sooth him. He turned to see Natalia with a smile on her face. He felt himself getting hot in the face and quickly looked away. His eyes finding a nearby dart board oddly interesting. He could hear her laugh, ringing in his head like a bell. It was pleasant and he liked the idea of being able to hear it more often than not.

He looked back at her and decided that maybe, maybe this could work out.

"I think you've heard enough from me by now. But I don't really know much about you." he declared. Natalia just chuckled, even if she were a little reluctant.

"Alright Rogers, I think I'll grace you with my oh so very interesting childhood memories." She ordered a glass of vodka this time and faced Steve, a small smile on her face.

"I came from a large family in Russia and we moved here when I was 11 for a new start. I took some taekwondo, martial arts. You know, the streets of New York can be pretty shady. I even used to be a ballerina." she explained.

"Really? That's nice. Anything else you wanna add?"

"That's a story for another time Steve."

"Understandable….It must have been fun being able to dance."

"Yes, it really was. I felt like I was on air." she said as a nostalgic look appeared upon her features.

"So you're not dancing anymore?" his eyebrow quirked upwards.

"Well not since…" she trailed off, lost in an unpleasant thought. Steve sensed her discomfort and immediately started apologizing.

"God, I'm sorry for asking. You really don't have to tell me if it's that painful. We just met and all. I didn't mean for you to remember something bad or scarring for that matter," he babbled. "I mean I understand if you don't want to talk about it…" Steve would have gone off on a tangent, if a finger hadn't been pressed gently upon his lips. Subtly indicating that he should shut up. He was flustered as he'd just embarrassed himself in front of Natalia.

"Steve, it's okay," she assured. "I want to tell you." her lips quirked upward into a melancholic smile. "You see while I was dancing here in New York I met a man, I thought he was amazing. He was nice to me, he was my dance partner and he said things. Things that had me believe that we'd have a promising future together." She sighed. "But it was too good to be true. On the day of our dance troupe's big show, he was supposed to catch me but….He didn't, I fell on my leg and well. Bye, bye ballerina slippers." she looked down at her hands. He was silent and she felt as if he was analyzing her. She slightly squirmed under his empty, blue eyed gaze.

It took her a second to register what had just happened. Two arms had enveloped her into a tight embrace. Never had she ever been hugged after telling a man, other than her friends, her story. She felt secure, like she couldn't be hurt anymore. It was like a giant teddy bear was keeping her warm and safe.

Steve was different. He didn't undermine her like the other men in her past. And she was grateful for it. Natalia was content with just being there with him. She was about to return the hug when he quickly detached himself from her. His face had gotten as red as a fire truck.

"Steve, it's alright. I actually needed that hug. Thank you." She beamed. He smiled back, glad he didn't do anything wrong.

It took them a second, but they realized that the bar was closing up. Checking his watch his eyes widened. He gave Natalia a goofy smile and pointed at it.

"It's already 2 in the morning." she said looking at the time. She stood up from the bar and looked at Steve. Who was already standing up. Together they walked out of the bar and stood in the night's cool air. "I had fun."

"I did too." he replied.

"It felt nice to talk to you. Almost feels like we've known each other for more than several hours." she stated. "We should do this again."

"Definitely." He then noticed that he hadn't gotten her phone number. As if she were reading his mind, she handed him a slip of paper with her number.

"How about for coffee?" she said winking at him.

"Y-yeah...coffee sounds nice." he stuttered. Just before she left she quickly stood up on her tip toes and pecked his cheek.

"See you around Rogers." she then walked away. Leaving Steve to recollect his thoughts. But before she actually left she called out to Steve.

"Tony was wrong. You're not an "agonizingly awkward mess." You're more of a shy, down to earth kind of guy. And that's not bad, not bad at all." with that said she left, smiling to herself. Steve was flustered to say the least, smiling like he just won something better than the lottery.


End file.
